2002 Toronto

In 2002 the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) were in the fourth year of an agreement with primary sponsor FedEx. The series was called the CART FedEx Championship.

Team Penske left CART to join the Indy Racing League.
The series implemented mandatory pit windows requiring each driver to go no further than a specified number of laps before pitting.
Traction control was permitted.
Two qualifying sessions were added with the fastest driver in each session starting on the front row.

The nineteen race season kicked off on March 10th in Monterrey, Mexico and ended at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico, on November 17h. Along with North America stops, the series visited Mexico, Japan, England and Australia.

March 10 - Parque Fundidora
April 14 - Long Beach Street Circuit
April 27 - Twin Ring Motegi
June 2 - The Milwaukee Mile
June 9 - Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
June 16 - Portland International Raceway
June 30 - Chicago Motor Speedway
July 7 - Exhibition Place
July 14 - Burke Lakefront Airport
July 28 - Pacific Place
August 11 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
August 18 - Road America
August 25 - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
September 2 - Denver
September 14 - Rockingham Speedway
October 6 - Miami Street Circuit
October 27 - Surfers Paradise Street Circuit
November 3 - California Speedway
November 17 - Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez

The two chassis suppliers in 2002 were Reynard and Lola. The Lola B2/100 was a popular choice, with many teams also relying on the new Reynard 02i.

Engines were available from Honda (Honda HR-2), Ford (Ford-Cosworth XF) and Toyota (Toyota RV8F). All motors were built to similar specifications – fuel-injected turbocharged eight-cylinders with an aluminum engine block and DOHC cylinder heads. The 2.6-liter engine uses methanol racing fuel, producing approximately 800-horsepower.

All cars competed on Firestone’s parent company, Bridgestone, became the exclusive tire supplier for the series.

In addition to the Driver’s Championship, there are also awards for the Nation’s Cup, Chassis Constructor’s Cup and Engine Manufacturer’s Cup.

Round eight of the nineteen CART FedEx Championship season was conducted at Toronto’s Exhibition Place, the series’ seventeenth annual visit to the track. The 112-lap contest around the eleven-turn 1.755-mile temporary street circuit was called the Molson Indy Toronto.

Round eight of the 2002 CART FedEx Championship belonged to the points leader, Cristiano da Matta. Da Matta won the season opener at Monterrey, Mexico and was victorious in three of the most recent events. Driving the No. 6 Havoline Lola B2/00 powered a Toyota RV8F, he topped the timesheets in both qualifying sessions. In the race, he led the 112-lap contest flag-to-flag and increased his championship lead.

Kenny Brack, who finished second in last year’s title chase, left Team Rahal to join Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Brack drove the No. 12 Target Lola B2/00 Toyota RV8F. To date, the highlight of his season was a third-place finish at Laguna Seca. After two qualifying sessions, he was gridded fourth for the start of Molson Indy Toronto. Benefitting from Bruno Junqueira and Paul Tracy’s problems, Brack finished second.

Former Formula 1 driver Christian Fittipaldi joined the series in 1995. This season, he was the teammate of Cristiano da Matta at Newman / Haas Racing. Fittipaldi drove the No. 11 Lola B2/00 Toyota RV8F. He wasn’t equaling da Matta’s results but had two podium results and was fifth in the standings. At Toronto, Fittipaldi qualified fifth fastest and collected the final position on the rostrum.

Local favourite Paul Tracy gave the fans something to cheer about when he put the No. 26 Team KOOL Green Lola B2/00 / Honda HR-2 on the outside of the front row. Tracy chased the race leader Cristiano da Matta for much of the event, but his car developed a brake issue. While in seventh-place, on lap-88, he spun and made contact with the turn one tire wall, which caused him to retire and finish sixteenth.

Bruno Junqueira was the other member of Target Chip Ganassi Racing and drove the No. 4 Target Lola B2/00 Toyota RV8F. Junqueira entered round eight second in the title chase, twenty-five points behind the leader, Cristiano da Matta. He qualified third-fastest at Toronto. Junqueira was in sixth place on lap-93 when an aggressive pass by Townsend Bell at the end of Lakeshore Drive eliminated him from the race.

Seven-time Toronto winner Michael Andretti did the impossible last year. An incident on the opening lap saw him rejoin the race in last place. Andretti charged through the field to capture the win. Problems with his primary car meant he would start last in this year’s Toronto Indy. Unfortunately, he could not reprise last season’s performance and finished eleven in the No. 39 Motorola Lola B2/00 Honda HR-2.

It was also a bad event for the 1999 Toronto winner, Dario Franchitti. Prior to the Toronto weekend, he had earned four rostrum results. In qualifying for the Molson Indy Toronto, Franchitti was the sixth fastest driving the No. 27 Team KOOL Green Lola B2/00 / Honda HR-2. However, he was never a factor in the race. Franchitti retired on lap-101 after he lost the rear wing in the final corner and spun.

Another driver having a disappointing weekend in Toronto was Michel Jourdain, Jr. Jourdain delivered some solid results early in the season. While he had not secured a podium result, he had seven top-ten finishes in as many starts and was fourth in points. In 2002, Jourdain drove the No. 9 Lola B2/00 / Ford Cosworth XF for Team Rahal. He posted the fifteenth fastest time in qualifying and finished twelfth.

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Cristiano da Matta	Lola B2/00 / Toyota RV8F	112	-
2	4	Kenny Brack	Lola B2/00 / Toyota RV8F	112	-
3	5	Christian Fittipaldi	Lola B2/00 / Toyota RV8F	112	-
4	7	Shinji Nakano	Lola B2/00 / Honda HR-2	112	-
5	9	Scott Dixon	Lola B2/00 / Toyota RV8F	112	-
6	8	Jimmy Vasser	Lola B2/00 / Ford Cosworth XF	112	-
7	11	Alex Tagliani	Reynard 02i / Ford Cosworth XF	112	-
8	12	Tora Takagi	Reynard 02i / Toyota RV8F	112	-
9	13	Adrian Fernandez	Lola B2/00 / Honda HR-2	111	-
10	14	Patrick Carpentier	Reynard 02i / Ford Cosworth XF	111	-
11	18	Michael Andretti	Lola B2/00 / Honda HR-2	110	-
12	15	Michel Jourdain, Jr.	Lola B2/00 / Ford Cosworth XF	109	-
13	6	Dario Franchitti	Lola B2/00 / Honda HR-2	101	Accident
14	3	Bruno Junqueira	Lola B1/00 / Toyota RV8F	92	Accident
15	16	Townsend Bell	Reynard 02i / Toyota RV8F	92	Disqualified
16	2	Paul Tracy	Lola B2/00 / Honda HR-2	88	Brakes
17	10	Tony Kanaan	Reynard 02i / Honda HR-2	60	Transmission
18	17	Mario Dominguez	Lola B2/00 / Honda HR-2	29	Engine

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